When Knighthood Was in Flower
About When Knighthood Was in Flower
Henry VIII plans to marry his sister Mary Tudor to Louis XII of France to secure a peace. Mary loves Charles Brandon. They try to escape and are caught. Charles is framed for murder and sent toward the Tower. Mary agrees to marry Louis if Henry will spare Charles, and she makes her brother promise, in front of Cardinal Wolsey, that she may choose a second husband if the first dies. In Paris she dodges the old king. His heir Francis tells her he will not accept those evasions once he is king. Louis dies trying to show he is still vigorous. Francis locks Mary in and tries to force himself on her. Charles comes through the window, and they flee. Back in London the French ambassador says Francis wants to marry her. Mary reminds Henry of his promise, introduces Charles, and Henry makes Charles Duke of Suffolk so a commoner can marry her.
Cast & crew
More about When Knighthood Was in Flower
Robert G. Vignola directed. William Randolph Hearst produced it through Cosmopolitan Productions for Marion Davies. Paramount distributed it, with International Film Service also named on Silent Era's sheet. The novel is by Charles Major and the play by Paul Kester. The Criterion Theatre in New York premiered it on 14 September 1922. General release was 4 February 1923. Copyright LP18748 is dated 20 September 1922. The roadshow print is 12 reels, 11,618 feet. The Exhibitors Herald of 2 September 1922 quoted Cosmopolitan's chief auditor on a cost of $1,500,000. A Paris street of 32 buildings cost nearly $42,000 and used more than 3,000 extras. Shooting ran 140 workdays and used 294,000 feet of negative. Victor Herbert wrote the score. Some original prints had Handschiegl color sequences.
Themes
Making
Exteriors were shot at Windsor Castle. Life called the production, at the reported cost, the most expensive film yet made.
Audiences
At the 1922 theater owners' ball, Davies was named the top female box-office star. Rudolph Valentino was named the top male star. Davies later said London audiences would not accept an American woman as an English princess.
Technique
Original American prints included sequences colored by the Handschiegl process.
Music
Victor Herbert wrote the score, reported in Exhibitors Herald on 26 August 1922.
Preservation
Silent Era records the 12-reel roadshow print in the Library of Congress and a print in the Academy Film Archive. The film is in the public domain in the United States.
Notes
- Marion Davies plays Mary Tudor, Forrest Stanley plays Charles Brandon, Lyn Harding plays Henry VIII, and William Norris plays Louis XII. William Powell, in his second film, plays Francis I.
- Wikipedia gives the box office as $1,500,000.
- A bridge scene used 33 horses, nine of them trained to jump 20 feet into the water.
- The Criterion run was 108 days and 245 screenings, according to Camera of 6 January 1923.
- Joseph Urban redecorated the Criterion for the engagement.
- Walt Disney's studio remade the story in 1953 as The Sword and the Rose, directed by Ken Annakin.
- Prints of the 12-reel roadshow version are in the Library of Congress Marion Davies collection, and another print is at the Academy Film Archive.
Scenes
- Charles climbs through the window as Francis tries to overpower Mary.
- Henry dubs Charles Duke of Suffolk so the marriage can stand.
Influenced by
- When Knighthood Was in Flower (novel)
- When Knighthood Was in Flower (play)
Influenced
- The Sword and the Rose (1953)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922).webm)
Quotes
I might as well have given the minx her way in the first place.
